Velden am Wörther See ( Slovene: ''Vrba na Koroškem'') is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Villach-Land District Bezirk Villach-Land () is a Districts of Austria, district of the States of Austria, state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia in Austria. Municipalities Towns (''Städte'') are indicated in boldface; market towns (''Marktgemeinden'') in ''italics ...

, in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

. Situated on the western shore of the

Wörthersee Wörthersee (; Slovene: ''Vrbsko jezero'', ) is a lake in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia. The bathing lake is a main tourist destination in summer. Geography Wörthersee is Carinthia's largest lake. It is elongated, about long and ...

lake, it is one of the country's most popular holiday

resorts A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

Geography

The municipal area of Velden is subdivided into eight Katastralgemeinden (cadastral communities): Augsdorf, Duel, Kerschdorf ob Velden, Köstenberg, Latschach an der Drau, Lind ob Velden, St. Egyden, and Velden am Wörther See – which include 30 villages: * Aich (''Dob'') * Augsdorf (''Loga Vas'') * Bach (''Potok'') * Dieschitz (''Deščice'') * Dröschitz (''Trešiče'') * Duel (''Dole'') * Fahrendorf * Göriach (''Gorje'') * Kantnig (''Konatiče'') * Kerschdorf (''Črešnje'') * Köstenberg (''Kostanje'') * Kranzlhofen (''Dvor'') * Latschach (''Loče'') * Lind ob Velden (''Lipa'') * Oberdorf (''Zgornja vas'') * Oberjeserz (''Zgornje Jezerce'') * Oberwinklern (''Vogliče'') * Pulpitsch (''Polpače'') * Rajach (''Sreje'') * Saisserach (''Zajzare'') * St. Egyden (''Šentilj'') * Selpritsch (''Žoprače'') * Sonnental * Sternberg (''Šentjurij na Strmcu'') * Treffen (''Trebinja'') * Unterjeserz (''Spodnje Jezerce'') * Unterwinklern (''Spodnje Vogliče'') * Velden am Wörther See (''Vrba'') * Weinzierl (''Vinare'') * Wurzen (''Koren'')

History

Originally a ''

mansio In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...

'' on the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

between

Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...

(Sanctium) and

Magdalensberg Magdalensberg ( Slovene: ''Štalenska gora'') is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia in Austria. Geography Magdalensberg lies at the foot of the Magdalensberg in the Klagenfurt basin in the lower Gurk valley. The Gurk an ...

. It was first mentioned in a 1263 deed as ''Campus'' and in 1410 as ''Velben''. In medieval times it belonged to the estates of the

Burgruine Hohenwart Burgruine Hohenwart is a ruined castle south of the village of Köstenberg in Carinthia, Austria. See also *List of castles in Austria This page is a list of castles and castle ruins in Austria, arranged by States of Austria, state. A ''Burgr ...

, seat of the

Counts of Celje The Counts of Celje () or the Counts of Cilli (; ) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes of Styria in the early 14th century, they ruled the County ...

, the

Counts of Ortenburg The Counts of Ortenburg () were a comital family in the mediaeval Duchy of Carinthia. Though they had roots in Bavarian nobility, an affiliation with the Imperial Counts of Ortenburg, a branch line of the Rhenish Franconian House of Sponheim, ...

, the Knightly Order of Saint George in

Millstatt Abbey Millstatt Abbey () is a former monastery in Millstatt, Austria. Established by Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monks about 1070, it ranks among the most important Romanesque architecture, Romanesque buildings in the state of Carinthia (state), ...

, and finally the Austrian

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

. In 1545, the Protestant Khevenhüller noble family had acquired the lands of Landskron and Velden, where Bartlmä Khevenhüller from 1585 had a

renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

manor house built. His descendants were expelled from the Habsburg lands in the course of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

in 1639, and the castle then fell to the noble House of

Dietrichstein The House of Dietrichstein was one of the oldest and most prominent Austrian nobility, Austrian noble families originating in the Duchy of Carinthia. The family belonged to the Uradel, high nobility (German: ''Hochadel''). The Mikulov Castle, Niko ...

. Decayed and demolished by a fire, it was rebuilt in 1892 as a hotel called Schloss Velden. Later an estate of Gunter Sachs, it was the filming location for the popular 1990-1992 German-Austrian TV series ''

Ein Schloß am Wörthersee is a German–Austrian comedy television series made by Lisa Film and RTL, known internationally as ''Lakeside Hotel''. The series ran for 33 episodes in 3 seasons from 1990 to 1992, followed by a 90-minute special in 1993. ''Ein Schloß'' is ...

'' starring Schlager singer Roy Black.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Gemeinderat'') as of 2009 elections: *

Social Democratic Party of Austria The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

(SPÖ): 14 * Freedom Party in Carinthia (FPÖ): 7 *

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

(ÖVP): 5 * Unity List: 1

Twin towns — sister cities

Velden am Wörther See is twinned with: *

Bled Bled (; ,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper Carniolan regio ...

, Slovenia, since 2004 *

Gemona del Friuli Gemona del Friuli (; ; ; ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine, in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Udine. The municipality of Gemona del F ...

, Italy *

Jesolo Jesolo (; ) is a seaside resort town and ''comune'' of 26,873 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy. With around 5.5 million visitors per year, Jesolo ranks second among beach resorts in the country for number of tourists, and t ...

, Italy, since 2006

Gallery

File:Velden Seecorso Promenade 16022008 8025.jpg, Seepromenade by the Lake Wörth in Velden File:Velden Karawankenplatz 3 Hotel Carinthia Ost-Ansicht 24052014 2697.jpg, "Hotel Carinthia" File:Velden Am Corso 17 Casino SW-Ansicht 05072006 2946.jpg, The Casino Velden File:Velden Karawankenplatz 2 Hotel Kointsch S-Ansicht 13022008 7105.jpg, South view of the "Hotel Kointsch" File:Velden Rosentalerstrasse Haus Gessenharter 16022008 28.jpg, Villa Gessenharter File:Velden Gemonaplatz Gemeindeamt von 1870 17042011 292.jpg, Town hall File:Velden Seecorso Promenade 26032016 1148.jpg, Seecorso promenade along the Lake Wörth

References

External links

Schloss Velden official websiteHotel Ogris am See official website
, Family-run design hotel at the lakeside
Holiday in Velden am Wörther See
, Info website for tourists {{DEFAULTSORT:Velden am Worther See Cities and towns in Villach-Land District